We decided in particular that the two coming year would be devoted in priority to the implementation of the Qualicities approach within the network, and gradually within all the European communities eager to adapt this powerful tool for their own local development.

Qualicities, both the symbol of our commitment and the technical tool of the achievement of our common objective: to transform the extraordinary local patrimonies inherited from our ancestors into a source of sustainable development for us and for the next generations. It is the tool that the AVEC community members built to implement locally the four great lines of the European Charter of Cities and Territories of Culture.

Qualicities is initially a working method which enables the city council teams to reach a high quality of services always improved for the citizens, by fixing objectives of progress year after year.
This method was developed during two years and half by 15 member cities, with the financial support of the European Union (program Interreg IIIC).

The concrete standards of Qualicities were selected by the cities, on the basis of their best practice, current or desired. So that the good practices referent document created - which indexes the areas concerned and the minimum level standard required – has a very pragmatic and realistic dimension.

Qualicities is also a European label intended to show and promote, locally and internationally, the efforts made by the communities which will have successfully passed the quality audit ensured by independent professionals.

Eventually, Qualicities, it is, for AVEC, the occasion to develop interesting partnerships with technical organizations – as AFAQ-AFNOR group, which helped us to build the method and the label, and international NGO - as the European Union, the Council of Europe or ICLEI- which share our values and our ambition to make Europe a rooted and dynamic society.
For this reason we decided to share through Europe this extraordinary tool for decision-making and action aid.